In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) establishes the Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and the Connect USVI Fund to rebuild, improve and expand voice and broadband networks in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Through the Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund, the Commission will make available up to $750 million of funding to carriers in Puerto Rico, including an immediate infusion of $51.2 million for restoration efforts in 2018. Through the Connect USVI Fund, the Commission will make available up to $204 million of funding to carriers in the U.S. Virgin Islands, including an immediate infusion of $13 million for restoration efforts in 2018. As a result of these Funds, as well as the Commission's decision not to offset more than $65 million in advance payments it made to carriers last year, it will make available up to $256 million in additional high-cost support for rebuilding, improving, and expanding broadband-capable networks in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Comments are due on or before July 5, 2018 and reply comments are due on or before July 18, 2018. If you anticipate that you will be submitting comments, but find it difficult to do so within the period of time allowed by this document, you should advise the contact listed in the following as soon as possible.

47 CFR Part 54

Summary

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) seeks comment on how best to structure the second stage of the Uniendo a Puerto Rico and Connect USVI Funds to speed longer-term efforts to rebuild fixed and mobile voice and broadband networks in the territories and harden them against future natural disasters. The Commission intends to target high-cost support over the next several years in a tailored and cost-effective manner, using competitive processes where appropriate.

In this document, the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and Wireline Competition Bureau (the Bureaus) reconsider certain aspects of the Mobility Fund Phase II (MF-II) challenge process procedures on their own motion and modify certain parameters for speed test measurements needed to file a successful challenge to an area that is initially deemed ineligible for MF-II support.

The amendment to § 54.309(a)(2)(iii) & (iv) of the Commission's rules is effective June 20, 2018.

47 CFR Part 54

Summary

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) amends its rules to require 2 terabytes of monthly usage for certain Connect America Fund Phase II auction performance tiers, taking another step towards implementing the Connect America Fund Phase II auction in which service providers will compete to receive support of up to $1.98 billion to offer voice and broadband service in unserved high-cost areas.

Comments are due on or before June 1, 2018, and reply comments are due on or before July 2, 2018.

47 CFR Part 54

Summary

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) proposes and seeks comment on a targeted rule to ensure that Universal Service Fund (USF) funding is not spent on equipment or services from suppliers that pose a national security threat to the integrity of communications networks or the communications supply chain.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) for the period beginning January 1, 2017, increases the amount of operating costs that carriers that predominantly serve Tribal lands can recover from the universal service fund (USF) in recognition that they are likely to have higher costs than carriers not serving Tribal lands. This action will provide additional funding to these carriers to provide both voice and broadband services to their customers.

Effective May 31, 2018, except for §§ 54.313(f)(4) and 54.1305(j) which contains information collection requirements that have not been approved by OMB. The FCC will publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the effective date of those rules awaiting OMB approval.

47 CFR Parts 54 and 64

Summary

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) takes the next step in closing the digital divide through actions and proposals designed to stimulate broadband deployment in rural areas. To reach the Commission's objective, it must continue to reform its existing high-cost universal support programs. Building on earlier efforts to modernize high-cost universal support, it seeks to offer greater certainty and predictability to rate-of-return carriers and create incentives to bring broadband to the areas that need it the most.

This document corrects errors in the final rules portion of a Federal Register document that adopted rules to implement a competitive bidding process for Phase II of the Connect America Fund that will harness market forces to expand broadband in targeted rural areas. The document was published in the Federal Register on July 7, 2016.

Effective May 25, 2018, except for the amendment to § 54.1016 (a)(1)(ii), which contains information collection requirements that have not been approved by OMB. The Commission will publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the effective date.

47 CFR Part 54

Summary

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) resolves the remaining petitions for reconsideration regarding the requirements for Mobility Fund Phase II (MF-II). The Commission revises the language of its rule for collocation, and reduces the value of the letter of credit that a Mobility Fund Phase II support recipient is required to hold after the Universal Service Administration Company (USAC), together with the Commission, has verified that the MF-II support recipient has achieved significant progress toward completing their buildout and service provision requirements. The Commission affirms its Mobility Fund Phase II rules in all other respects.

Comments are due on or before May 25, 2018 and reply comments are due on or before June 25, 2018. If you anticipate that you will be submitting comments, but find it difficult to do so within the period of time allowed by this document, you should advise the contact listed below as soon as possible.

47 CFR Part 54

Summary

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) considers further reform to establish a budget that will allow for robust broadband deployment in rate-of-return areas while minimizing the burden that contributions to the Universal Service Fund (the Fund) place on ratepayers and to bring greater certainty and stability to rate-of-return high-cost funding, both in the near term and in the future. The Commission also seeks comment on additional reforms to increase broadband deployment, while promoting the efficient use of limited resources.

This rule is effective May 14, 2018, except for the amendment to 47 CFR 54.315(c)(1)(ii), which requires approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The Commission will publish a document in the Federal Register announcing approval of the information collection requirement and the date the amendment will become effective. For more information, see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION .

47 CFR Part 54

Summary

In this document, the Commission considers the remaining issues raised by parties challenging the Commission's orders implementing the Connect America Phase II (Phase II) auction (Auction 903). Specifically, the Commission resolves petitions challenging the Commission's decisions on the following issues: How to compare bids of different performance levels, standalone voice requirements, Phase II auction deployment and eligibility, and state-specific bidding weights, among other matters. The Commission also adopts a process by which a support recipient that sufficiently demonstrates that it cannot identify enough actual locations on the ground to meet its Phase II obligations can have its total state location obligation adjusted and its support reduced on a pro rata basis. Lastly, the Commission modifies the Commission's letter of credit rules to provide some additional relief for Phase II auction recipients by reducing the costs of maintaining a letter of credit.

In this document, the Commission reconsiders rules adopted in the Rate-of-Return Reform Order. Specifically, the Commission replaces the surrogate cost methods for Consumer Only Broadband Loops, revises CBOL imputation rules, and lastly, clarifies matters concerning reductions in the Connect America Fund Broadband Loop Support. Further review of the record supports the adjustments, and further promotes the Commission's goals of providing certainty and stability for carriers and continued consumer access to advanced telecommunications and information services.

The challenge window will open March 29, 2018, and will remain open until August 27, 2018.

47 CFR Part 54

Summary

In this document, the Rural Broadband Auctions Task Force, with the Wireline Competition Bureau and the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, adopt specific parameters and procedures to implement the Mobility Fund Phase II challenge process. This document describes the steps the Federal Communications Commission will use to establish a map of areas presumptively eligible for MF-II support from the newly collected, standardized 4G Long Term Evolution coverage data and proposes specific parameters for the data that challengers and respondents will submit as part of the challenge process, as well as a process for validating challenges.

Auction 903 short-form applications must be filed prior to 6 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on March 30, 2018. Bidding in Auction 903 is scheduled to begin on July 24, 2018.

47 CFR Part 54

Summary

In the document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) establishes the procedures for the Connect America Fund Phase II auction (Phase II auction, auction, or Auction 903). The auction will award up to $1.98 billion over 10 years to providers that commit to offer voice and broadband services to fixed locations in unserved high-cost areas. The auction is scheduled to begin on July 24, 2018.

Oppositions to the Petitions must be filed on or before March 19, 2018. Replies to an opposition must be filed on or before March 29, 2018.

47 CFR Part 54

Summary

The Federal Communications Commission (Commission) published a document in the Federal Register of March 2, 2018 (83 FR 8962), regarding Petitions for Reconsideration filed in the Commission's rulemaking proceeding. The document contained the incorrect deadline for filing replies to an opposition to the Petitions. This document corrects the deadline for replies to an opposition to the Petitions.

The amendment to § 54.310(e) published at 79 FR 39164, July 9, 2014, is effective March 13, 2018.

47 CFR Part 54

Summary

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved, for a period of three years, an information collection associated with the rules for the Connect America Fund Phase II auction (CAF-II auction) contained in the Commission's Connect America Fund Orders, FCC 14-54 and FCC 16-64. This document is consistent with the Connect America Fund Orders, which stated that the Commission would publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the effective date of the new information collection requirements.

The amendments regarding §§ 54.316(a)(1) and (a)(5) and (6), (b)(6), 54.320(d), and the addition of § 54.321 published at 81 FR 69696, October 7, 2016, are effective February 15, 2018. OMB has approved the reporting requirements for recipients of Phase II support awarded in partnership with New York's New NY Broadband Program as adopted in FCC 17-2, paragraphs 69-70 as of February 1, 2018.

47 CFR Part 54

Summary

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved, for a period of three years, an information collection associated with the Commission's Connect America Fund, The Commission submitted revised information collection requirements for review and approval by OMB, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, December 12, 2017, which were approved by the OMB on February 1, 2018. This document is consistent with FCC Orders, which stated that the Commission would publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the effective date of the revised information collection requirements.

2018-02-08; vol. 83 # 27 - Thursday, February 8, 2018

83 FR 5543 - Deletion of Rules Made Obsolete by the Digital Television Transition

Comments are due on or before February 2, 2018, and reply comments are due on or before March 5, 2018. If you anticipate that you will be submitting comments, but find it difficult to do so within the period of time allowed by this document, you should advise the contact listed below as soon as possible.

47 CFR Part 54

Summary

The Federal Communications Commission (Commission) published a document in the Federal Register of January 3, 2018 seeking comment on how to strengthen the Rural Health Care Program and improve access to telehealth in rural America. The document contained an incorrect reply comment date.

2018-01-16; vol. 83 # 10 - Tuesday, January 16, 2018

83 FR 2075 - Bridging the Digital Divide for Low-Income Consumers, Lifeline and Link Up Reform and Modernization, Telecommunications Carriers Eligible for Universal Service Support

Effective February 15, 2018, except for § 54.411, which will become effective March 19, 2018, and §§ 54.403(a)(3), 54.413, and 54.414 which contain information collection requirements that have not been approved by OMB. The Federal Communications Commission will publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the effective date of those rules awaiting OMB approval.

47 CFR Part 54

Summary

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) takes a fresh look at the Commission's Lifeline program and makes changes to the Lifeline rules to ensure that the program can more effectively and efficiently help close the digital divide for low-income consumers, while minimizing the contributions burden on ratepayers by tackling waste, fraud, and abuse.

83 FR 2104 - Bridging the Digital Divide for Low-Income Consumers, Lifeline and Link Up Reform and Modernization, Telecommunications Carriers Eligible for Universal Service Support

Comments are due on or before January 24, 2018, and reply comments are due on or before February 23, 2018. If you anticipate that you will be submitting comments, but find it difficult to do so within the period of time allowed by this document, you should advise the contact listed below as soon as possible.

47 CFR Part 54

Summary

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) proposes and seeks comment on reforms to ensure the Lifeline program rules comport with the authority granted to the Commission in the Communications Act and to curb wasteful and abusive spending in the Lifeline program. The Commission also seeks comment on how Lifeline might more efficiently target funds to areas and households most in need of help in obtaining digital opportunity.

Parties may submit the list of provider-approved handsets as part of their 4G LTE coverage data filings due by January 4, 2018, or they may elect to supplement those filings with the handset list by no later than thirty days following the publication of this document in the Federal Register.

47 CFR Part 54

Summary

In this document, the Rural Broadband Auctions Task Force, with the Wireline Competition Bureau and the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, provide further guidance on the handsets that mobile wireless providers in the Mobility Fund Phase II challenge process can designate for challengers to use when conducting speed tests in areas deemed presumptively ineligible for MF-II support. This document adopts procedures for challengers to request access to the Universal Service Administrative Company challenge process portal.

Comments are due February 2, 2018, and reply comments are due on or before February 20, 2018. If you anticipate that you will be submitting comments, but find it difficult to do so within the period of time allowed by this document, you should advise the contact listed below as soon as possible.

47 CFR Part 54

Summary

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) proposes measured steps as part of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Order to ensure that rural healthcare providers get the support they need while guarding against waste, fraud, and abuse, considers a series of measures to ensure the Rural Health Care (RHC) Program operates efficiently and considers the appropriate size of the funding cap. The Commission takes targeted, immediate action in the Order section of the item to mitigate the impact of the existing RHC Program cap on rural healthcare providers in funding year (FY) 2017. Because the Order section does not establish any final rules, we do not incorporate the Order section in this document.

Effective date: The rules are effective on November 24, 2017. Applicability date: These rules were applicable on October 30, 2017.

47 CFR Part 54

Summary

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission adopts, on an emergency basis, temporary rules to provide immediate relief to schools and libraries contending with the devastation caused by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, which struck the United States and its territories in August and September 2017. These temporary rules make available targeted support to schools and libraries that are forced to rebuild facilities and replace equipment damaged by the Hurricanes, and provide increased flexibility for eligible services to be restored through service substitutions. The rules also provide support for schools that have increased their total student enrollments by 5 percent or more by taking in students displaced by the Hurricanes

Comments are due on or before November 8, 2017 and reply comments are due on or before November 29, 2017.

47 CFR Part 54

Summary

In this document, the Rural Broadband Auctions Task Force (Task Force), with the Wireline Competition Bureau and the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (the Bureaus), propose and seek comment on specific parameters and procedures to implement the Mobility Fund Phase II (MF-II) challenge process. This document describes the steps the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) intends to use to establish a map of areas presumptively eligible for MF-II support from the newly collected, standardized 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) coverage data and proposes specific parameters for the data that challengers and respondents will submit as part of the challenge process, as well as a process for validating challenges.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) adopted a Report and Order that eliminates certain rules from which the Commission has granted unconditional forbearance for all carriers, and eliminates references to telegraph service from certain sections of the Commission's rules. The Report and Order updates our rules to remove outmoded regulations from the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) that no longer reflect current requirements or technology. In so doing, we further our goals of reducing regulatory burdens, eliminating unnecessary rule provisions, and making the agency as efficient and effective as possible.

The Commission adopted this Order on Reconsideration and Second Report and Order on August 3, 2017, and the parameters set forth therein for the Mobility Fund Phase II challenge process, along with all associated requirements also set forth therein, go into effect October 10, 2017, except for the new or modified information collection requirements in the challenge process that require approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The Commission will publish a document in the Federal Register announcing approval of those information collection requirements and the date they will become operative.

47 CFR Part 54

Summary

In this Order on Reconsideration and Second Report and Order, the Commission adopts the parameters for the Mobility Fund Phase II challenge process, which will enable the Commission to resolve eligible-area disputes expeditiously. The challenge process will begin with a new, one-time collection of standardized, up-to-date 4G LTE coverage data from mobile wireless providers. Interested parties will then have an opportunity to contest an initial determination that an area is ineligible for MF-II support, and providers will then have an opportunity to response to challenges.

Comments are due on or before September 18, 2017 and reply comments are due on or before October 18, 2017. If you anticipate that you will be submitting comments, but find it difficult to do so within the period of time allowed by this document, you should advise the contact listed below as soon as possible.

47 CFR Part 54

Summary

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) initiates the pre-auction process for the Connect America Fund Phase II auction (Phase II auction, auction, or Auction 903). The Commission proposes and seeks comment on the procedures to be used in the Phase II auction. The Phase II auction will award up to $1.98 billion over 10 years to service providers that commit to offer voice and broadband services to fixed locations in unserved high-cost areas. The auction is scheduled to begin in 2018. A guide that provides further technical and mathematical detail regarding the bidding, assignment, and support amount determination procedures proposed in this document, as well as examples for potential bidders, is available at: http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2017/db0804/DA-17-733A1.pdf.

In this document, by eliminating several rules that are either duplicative of other reporting requirements or are simply no longer necessary, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) streamlines the annual reporting requirements for eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) that receive high-cost universal service support. The Commission also re-emphasizes the importance of providing the public with access to non-confidential information filed by ETCs, and it directs the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) to work closely with state and Tribal governments and other stakeholders to improve public access to the information that ETCs will continue to file.

In this document, the Connect2HealthFCC Task Force (Task Force) of the Federal Communications Commission (Commission), extends the deadline for interested parties to submit comments and reply comments in response to the notice issued on April 24, 2017, on FCC Seeks Comment and Data on Actions to Accelerate Adoption and Accessibility of Broadband-Enabled Health Care Solutions and Advanced Technologies (GN Docket No. 16-46; FCC 17-46). In addition, the Task Force announces that it will be convening several virtual listening sessions to more efficiently facilitate additional input on the issues raised in the aforementioned notice.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) amends the Rural Health Care (RHC) Program rule which defines “health care provider” to implement the provision of the Rural Healthcare Connectivity Act of 2016 amending the Communications Act of 1934 (the Act) to include skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) amongst the list of health care providers eligible to receive support.

Comments are due on or before July 10, 2017 and reply comments are due on or before July 24, 2017. If you anticipate that you will be submitting comments, but find it difficult to do so within the period of time allowed by this document, you should advise the contact listed below as soon as possible.

47 CFR Part 54

Summary

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) seeks comment on whether the Commission should change the current rate floor methodology or eliminate the rate floor and its accompanying reporting obligation.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) grants the Petition for Reconsideration filed by NTCA—The Rural Broadband Association (NTCA) of the Commission's Rate-of-Return Reform Order with respect to the average per-location, per-project construction limitation on universal service support provided for in the Rate-of-Return Reform Order. Amending the rule as described below will encourage carriers to plan cost-effective broadband deployment projects that include higher-cost locations, while maintaining adequate incentives for the efficient use of universal service funds.

Submit comments on or before May 24, 2017, and reply comments on or before June 8, 2017.

47 CFR 1, 15, 20, and 54

Summary

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) seeks comment, data, and information on a variety of regulatory, policy, and infrastructure issues related to the emerging broadband-enabled health and care ecosystem. The FCC seeks to ensure that consumers—from major cities to rural and remote areas, Tribal lands, and underserved regions—can access potentially lifesaving health technologies and services, like telehealth and telemedicine, which are enabled by broadband connectivity. The anticipated record will allow the Commission and its Connect2HealthFCC Task Force (Task Force) to gain a broader understanding about the current state of broadband health connectivity. The record will also be used by the Task Force to make future recommendations to the Commission.

Oppositions to the Petitions must be filed on or before May 18, 2017. Replies to an opposition must be filed on or before May 30, 2017.

47 CFR Part 54

Summary

Petitions for Reconsideration (Petitions) have been filed in the Commission's rulemaking proceeding by Jennifer A. Manner, on behalf of HUGHES NETWORK SYSTEMS, LLC, Bohdan R. Pankiw, on behalf of Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, and Arthur F. McNulty, on behalf of Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.

The comment and reply comment period for the proposed rule published March 13, 2017 (82 FR 13413) is extended. Submit comments on or before April 26, 2017, and submit reply comments on or before May 11, 2017.

47 CFR Part 54

Summary

In this document, the Commission extends the deadline for filing comments and reply comments on the Commission's Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) in this proceeding, which was published in the Federal Register on March 13, 2017. The Commission also extends the deadline established in a separate Public Notice for filing justifications supporting confidentiality requests relating to mobile speed data filed through the Commission's Form 477.

This document corrects errors in a Federal Register document that corrected errors to an original Federal Register document that adopted significant reforms to place the universal service program on solid footing for the next decade to “preserve and advance” voice and broadband service in areas served by rate-of-return carriers. The document was published in the Federal Register on March 20, 2017.

Effective April 27, 2017 except for additions of §§ 54.1013, 54.1014, 54.1015(a) through (e), 54.1016(a) and (b), 54.1017, 54.1019, 54.1020, and 54.1021, which contain new or modified information collection requirements that require approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The Commission will publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the effective date of those additions.

47 CFR Parts 1 and 54

Summary

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) adopts the framework to allocate funds to assist in the deployment of 4G LTE to areas that are so costly that the private sector has not yet deployed there and to preserve such service where it might not otherwise exist. This framework redirects funding from legacy subsidies and distributes them through the Mobility Fund Phase II and Tribal Mobility Fund Phase II, using market-based, multi-round reverse auctions, and contains defined, concrete compliance requirements to help ensure rural consumers will be adequately served by mobile carriers receiving universal support.

The rules associated with the Orders related to certain high-cost carriers' obligation to report broadband location information where they have deployed facilities meeting their public interest obligations, as well as associated certifications and quarterly reports, published at 81 FR 24282, April 25, 2016, 81 FR 44414, July 7, 2016, and 81 FR 83706, November 22, 2016, as well as 47 CFR 54.316 and 54.320(d) are effective March 22, 2017.

47 CFR Part 54

Summary

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved, for a period of three years, an information collection associated with the Commission's Connect America Fund, Report and Order, Order and Order on Reconsideration, April 25, 2016, Report and Order, July 7, 2016, and Order, November 22, 2016 (collectively, Orders ). The Commission submitted new information collection requirements for review and approval by OMB, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, December 30, 2016, which were approved by the OMB on February 27, 2017. This notice is consistent with the Orders, which stated that the Commission would publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the effective date of new information collection requirements.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) takes another step towards implementing the Connect America Phase II auction in which service providers will compete to receive support of up to $1.98 billion to offer voice and broadband service in unserved high-cost areas.

This document corrects errors in the supplementary information and final rules portions of a Federal Register document adopting significant reforms to place the universal service program on solid footing for the next decade to “preserve and advance” voice and broadband service in areas served by rate-of-return carriers. The summary was published in the Federal Register on April 25, 2016.

Comments are due on or before April 12, 2017, and reply comments are due on or before April 27, 2017.

47 CFR Part 54

Summary

In this document, the Commission seeks comment on the parameters for the process in determining whether areas are eligible for funding under the Mobility Fund Phase II. The Commission established the framework for the Mobility Fund Phase II in a Report and Order—adopted concurrently with the Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking ( Further Notice )—but had remaining questions regarding the process in which entities may challenge the areas eligible for support. Therefore, the Commission anticipates that additional comment will allow it to make more informed decisions on the challenge process, thereby making a more robust, targeted challenge process that efficiently resolves disputes about areas eligible for MF-II support.

Comments are due on or before February 13, 2017 and reply comments are due on or before February 27, 2017. If you anticipate that you will be submitting comments, but find it difficult to do so within the period of time allowed by this document, you should advise the contact listed below as soon as possible.